– Monday Muse –
Dear One, recently on a warm afternoon, from where Ron and I were seated, the sun sparkled across the waters of East Grand Traverse Bay like sugary sparkles on thick, buttery frosting…making God’s set-apart-day all the sweeter. Being Sunday, with no plans after church, we visited Acme’s linear park, a long narrow park which hugged the shoreline. As evident from the picture, it was a wonderful choice. With book in hand, we first sat on a porch-like swing on the northern end, and then moved down a couple hundred feet to a bench. The park was the perfect place to spend the Lord’s Day, but in the back of my mind lingered the sad fact that the gift of the Lord’s set-apart-day was nearly an unobserved commandment. Such a gift, left unopened, like that of the gift of the Holy Spirit, renders an incalculable loss.
As you may know, I have a keen interest in recipes. I also like to review the comments about them. And what I find interesting are the number of cooks who say, “This recipe is delicious, but I used such-and-such instead of this-or-that.” I often do the same. But I think it is important to realize that when we change a recipe, it ceases to be THAT recipe; for it is not what the creator of the recipe intended.
Changing things to agree with our personal tastes seems to have become the American way. And sadly, those changes don’t stop with just recipes. In many of today’s churches the teachings are quite different from those heard by our ancestors or those I heard as a child. Sermons which once taught listeners to be followers of the Word are now commonly omitting Man’s part – proclaiming that God is here to please. (See the documentary American Gospel.)
Friday I met a man who attends a new church which was unknown to me. Because I grew up when the majority of churches still taught unaltered Truth, I was curious, and asked, “Does your church teach in the traditional manner of fifty or sixty years ago?” He said, “No,” and added, “We teach according to the teachings of 2000 years ago!” I lit up, and replied, “Good answer!” Such a church will not gloss over the gift of the Lord’s Day, and deny the congregants an amazing gift…a God honoring day which renews the soul for the week ahead.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Exodus 20:8
Blessings,
Susanne
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